BRENDEN AARONSON COULD HAVE COST LEEDS TODAY
Leeds United defeated Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux to send the travelling Whites into rapture, having secured a coveted victory to alleviate the concerns of relegation and advance to 14th in the Premier League.
United had started the day 18th in the table, but the congested nature of the bottom half of the division means that there are a melange of outfits endangered as the season approaches the business end, with Crystal Palace 12th and just four points above West Ham United in the drop zone.
Jack Harrison added to his goal and assist last weekend, against Brighton & Hove Albion, by placing the ball past Jose Sa and taking the early lead against the Wanderers, with further strikes from Luke Ayling and Rasmus Kristensen cementing what looked like an assured three points.
The Old Gold fought a gallant fight, with a wondrous volley from Jonny Otto preceding a deflected goal from Matheus Cunha, but the hope of a comeback dispersed after Jonny's red card, with 13-goal talisman Rodrigo coming off the bench to hammer home the priceless result in the dying embers of what was a positively enthralling encounter.
How did Aaronson perform against Wolves?
The victory is certainly what matters for Javi Gracia and co, but the tame showing of dynamic midfielder Brenden Aaronson will not have pleased the Spanish manager.
Leeds Live journalist Beren Cross gave the player a lowly 5/10 match rating after the match, lamenting his display and saying: "Another frustrating afternoon of poor decisions and weak challenges by the American. Needed more from him in the final third."
His insipid performance joins a growing list over recent weeks, with Football FanCast previously illustrating his ineffectiveness over past weeks, and if he cannot muster a more cohesive and promising spell of form he might find himself exiled from the starting fold.
Journalist Joe Donnahue even went so far as to say that Patrick Bamford was left "raging" after Aaronson wasted "a really good opportunity."
As per Sofascore, the £45k-per-week ace could only muster a match rating of 6.6 - the lowest of any offensive Leeds player on the pitch - taking 46 touches but only managing one off-target strike and losing possession 18 times.
Aaronson failed with all three of his attempted crosses and completed none of his four dribbles, being dribbled past once and winning five of his ten ground duels.
The "poor" - as branded by one source - performance continues a woeful spell of form, with Aaronson's average rating throughout the league campaign now at a measly 6.51.
Greener pastures tantalise on the horizon for Gracia and his squad, and with Leeds now having a foothold on their destiny in the English top-flight, Aaronson must be dropped, his inability to effectively contribute is now a detriment to the Whites' success.
2023-03-18T19:52:41Z dg43tfdfdgfd